Black Dog Publishing has graciously offered a copy of the new book Made By Hand: Contemporary Makers, Traditional Practicesby Nick Warner to one lucky Craft Gossip reader. Leave a comment in today’s post by Wednesday June 18, 2014 and you will be entered to win a copy of this book filled with beautiful photos of handmade items and an inside peek into the world they were created in. The stories are inspiring and thoughtful. Open to U.S. residents only please.

More about the book:

Made By Hand is an illustrated survey of some of the finest hand makers operating today. Profiling these makers with large images of themselves, their workshops, products and techniques, Made By Hand walks the reader through tailors, shoe makers, bee keepers, micro breweries, jewellers and more. By focusing on the choice these artisans have made to produce hand made goods in an age where mass-produced, imported wares are cheaper and easier the book is a timely celebration of the return to organic, hand made and home grown that is proliferating worldwide.

Each maker features in a double page spread with interviews probing their techniques, the surrounding tradition and their motivation for working by hand. This is accompanied by trivia, such as the celebrities they have produced for and the most expensive pieces they have ever made.

Prefaced by an introductory text about the ethos of hand making, and with the juxtaposition of traditional craft alongside contemporary hand making throughout, Made By Hand is framed as an address to hand craft as an environmentally friendly and economically healthy resurgence that is not only nostalgic but also progressive and productive.

I am in awe of artisans who take such pride in quality rather than quantity. When I was a little girl–not more than 4 or 5–a man up the street from us sat on his porch and carved a miniature set of laced boots out of a small block of wood. I watched, enchanted. I think he worked at a nearby sawmill. I was so thrilled when he gave them to me! I still have that little carving all these decades later and hope that at some point in his life, the man was recognized for the true artist he was. I love books that tell stories of talented people who work with their hands and their hearts.